The ZTE Blade S6 is the Chinese company’s latest crack at the mid-range smartphone segment, but is its fancy body writing cheques its internals can’t cash?

ZTE has been around for a while. In fact, the company was churning out mobile phones years before some of the current market leaders came into being. However, years of experience didn’t help ZTE maintain a competitive edge, so the company was the only big Chinese brand to lose market share last year, although it did manage to ship about 50 million phones.

Refreshed Blade series models, along with the recently announced Nubia Z9 series, are supposed to turn ZTE’s fortunes around. The Nubia brand is reserved for flagships, while value products end up with Blade branding. The Blade S6 is one such product and in many respects it feels like a smartphone designed by a corporate committee, assembled to design and deliver a mid-range device on budget, on time.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, because the end result is a well balanced and affordable 5-inch phone with a 720p display, 2.5D curved glass, octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. You also get a 13-megapixel camera, Android 5.0, LTE Cat 4, dual SIM and micro SD slot, all packed in a sleek 7.7mm thick body.

This is perhaps why ZTE chose to dispense with some bells and whistles, as keeping the price near the sweet spot was obviously a factor. The Blade S6 sells for $249 with free shipping, or about €229 from Gearbest's EU stock. So let’s see where ZTE’s accountants drew the line and decided to pinch pennies.

Design and Build Quality

As you can plainly see, the Blade S6 “borrows” its design from the iPhone 6. It’s a bit bigger, there’s no physical navigation button, no protruding camera, the speaker isn’t located at the bottom and since it’s plastic, there are aerial cut-outs on the back.

However, at the end of the day it has iPhone clone written all over it. In fact, ZTE isn’t just copying the Jony Ive’s design, it’s also trolling Apple with the “Designed by ZTE in California, Made in China” inscription on the back.

While some people like designs inspired by Apple, we fear the look is doing the Blade S6 more harm than good in western markets. Unlike most iPhone clones, this is actually a pretty nice mid-range device in its own right. The phone is available in silver and a pink version is on the way, too, but we think ZTE would have been better off had it decided to offer a few additional colour options for people who don’t want to feel like they’re getting an iPhone clone.

The good thing about copying Apple is that you do end up with pretty good ergonomics and a sleek look. The Blade S6 measures 144 x 70.7 x 7.7 mm (5.67 x 2.78 x 0.30 in) and weighs 134g, which is relatively slim and light for a 5-incher. There are no sharp edges and the curved glass helps make the phone appear (and feel) thinner than it really is. It’s very comfortable to hold, smooth as silk.

Perhaps a bit too smooth, as the body doesn’t offer a lot of grip. The volume rocker and power button are located on the right side. We have no complaints about their quality or design, tactile feedback is excellent and the finish is good.

Like we said, the back is plastic, it’s not aluminium although it tries to play the part. It’s not removable, either, hence neither is the 2400mAh battery. We’ve learned to live with non-removable batteries and unibody plastic/polycarbonate designs, especially when they’re done right, but we feel ZTE could have done a somewhat better job. The plastic doesn’t feel much better than a run of the mill removable cover, although you’d expect it to thanks to its unibody design. This is our biggest gripe with the ZTE Blade S6 – the back of the phone doesn’t touch the internals, so there’s a bit of flex when you apply pressure near the centre. This is rather odd, since it could have been resolved with a couple of reinforcement points on the inside of the shell, but someone obviously overlooked this detail.

The shell itself feels sturdy and there’s not a lot of flex to the body. The silver-coated plastic isn’t thin. Judging by the speaker and 3.5mm cut-outs, the shell is about a milimetre thick, much more than your average plastic back cover. Although we’re not fans of the faux aluminium look, the finish does have one thing going for it – it doesn’t attract a lot of fingerprints and smudges, so you won’t have to wipe it every second. In fact, just placing it in a tight pocket should get rid of most fingerprints.

As for ZTE’s choice of colours, we believe a few more options would have been nice, like an all-white one, or maybe a colourful, pastel option. Of course, then it wouldn’t look so much like an iPhone, but that would be a plus for many users.

Although we’re not entirely happy with the back, we must not forget that up until a couple of years ago, consumers got a similar tactile feeling on some flagship phones. Placed next to a Galaxy S5, the sides of the ZTE Blade S6 look and feel premium, but the back lets it down. If you prefer to use some sort of silicon case on your device, this is really not an issue. The fact that the 2400mAh battery is not replaceable may be a concern for some users, but thanks to the frugal chipset, we got decent results.

ZTE Blade S6 Specs and Performance

The ZTE Blade S6 is a mid-range device, but unlike most Chinese phones in this price range, it’s not based on MediaTek silicon. The SoC of choice is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615, with four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.5GHz and four additional A53 cores clocked at 1.0GHz. If you were thinking the choice of Qualcomm’s chipset also means that the phone can use every LTE network out there – think again. The Blade S6 can’t use many North American LTE bands, but European consumers should have no trouble with it. Of course, make sure to do your homework and check compatibility prior to making a purchase.

The spec does not leave a lot of room for complaints, it’s more or less standard for a 2015 mid-range device. One thing missing from the list is NFC support, but the rest of the package looks quite good. It's even got FM radio, which some users still find very useful. Oddly, the radio app does not appear to support RDS.

In terms of performance, the ZTE Blade S6 ends up somewhat slower than similar devices based on MediaTek’s MT6752 octa-core, with all eight cores clocked at 1.7GHz and Mali-T760 graphics. However, Qualcomm’s chip should be more efficient, making it more suitable for thin devices like the Blade S6.

In Quadrant, the Snapdragon 615 does rather well, outpacing the MediaTek MT6752, but other benchmarks clearly favour MediaTek's octa-core.

Antutu is a tad more realistic, although it doesn't do justice to the Snapdragon 801 on the Galaxy S5.

Basemark also favours the MediaTek SoC, but shows nearly identical scores for the Blade S6 and Desire 820, which are based on the same chipset.

3D Mark Ice Storm is more of the same, but it clearly proves that the Snapdragon 801 has a vastly more powerful GPU than the Snapdragon 615 and MT6752.

Overall, there are no big surprises. The MediaTek MT6752 is marginally faster in most tests, but the Snapdragon 615 should provide somewhat better battery life. The end-user probably won't be able to tell the difference. Both chipsets are quite powerful and more than capable of delivering great performance on a budget. However, if you're into mobile gaming, they're no substitute for a flagship phone with a more powerful GPU and a beefy battery.

We also included the Xiaomi Redmi 2 in our list because it's powered by the Snapdragon 615's little brother – the quad-core Cortex-A53 Snapdragon 410. It's clearly not able to keep up with octa-core parts, but even the little Snapdragon 410 still offers decent performance for entry-level devices.

While we are performance freaks, we must admit mid-range phones are becoming a very good alternative to flagships, offering near-flagship performance at a fraction of the cost.

Audio, Display and Camera Quality

The 5-inch 720p IPS panel is more or less standard, and obviously contrast isn’t on a par with AMOLED panels. As far as colours go, we were rather pleased with what we got, especially indoors. There’s a slightly warm tint to it and the overall quality is pretty good for this type of device. Redeeming features include relatively small bezels for a 5-inch device and good looking sheet of curved glass on top. The panel is not very bright, so it’s not great outdoors, but this is true of most phones in this price range, so we really can’t hold it against the ZTE.

We couldn't escape the feeling that the lovely 2.5D glass also creates a bit more reflections than standard panels, but the curved edges obviously have nothing to do with it. The curves feel quite nice and remind us of the Moto X and iPhone 6 (which is obviously no coincidence). While this is a 720p display, bear in mind that at 5 inches it ends up with a pixel density of 294ppi, which is good enough, especially for a mid-range device.

Overall, very few people will complain about the display.

Audio quality is surprisingly good. Unlike many Chinese phones, the ZTE Blade S6 has a noise cancelling microphone and thanks to years of experience on ZTE’s part, phone functionality is excellent. The microphones are good and call quality is top notch. The rear speaker is loud, although it can sound “tinny” when confronted with a lot of bass.

As for line-out audio output, we were equally impressed. There’s no static, stereo separation is excellent, the amp is relatively powerful and we couldn’t escape the feeling that we were playing around with a high-end device. We’re not sure what sort of components ZTE chose to use, but this is really good news for music lovers, who will also appreciate the microSD slot.

The 13-megapixel camera uses Sony’s IMX214 sensor, which is currently the most prolific imaging sensor in Chinese mid- to high-end phones. In fact, it’s used in much more expensive devices like the OnePlus One and Xiaomi Mi4. It’s not bad, and the fast aperture also helps.

However, ZTE’s camera software leaves much to be desired. The issues are not hardware related – the sensor is good and we suggest you download a third-party camera app, or Google Camera. Interestingly, ZTE ships the phone with Camera360 preinstalled, which leads us to conclude that the company is aware that its own camera app isn’t quite there yet.

The stock camera app offers two user interfaces; a streamlined, basic UI designed for speed and simplicity, and a more comprehensive Pro mode, which offers quite a bit more control.

The UI is not bad, but the stock camera app can deliver inconsistent results in some situations. However, the hardware clearly has potential.

As our 100% crop tests demonstrate, indoor images taken in the Fudzilla cafeteria are quite good, both in daylight and under incandescent lighting.

The ZTE Blade S6 also packs a relatively powerful LED flash.

As far as outdoor shots go, we had a chance to try it out on a perfect day for HDR shots – scattered clouds, just after noon, almost no junkies in the park.

As you can see, the HDR mode is a tad too aggressive on the shadows and "flattens" the image. Still, it does boost dynamic range. Note the clouds in the upper left corner.

Luckily, HDR does not kill too many details, as this 100% crop shows.

The camera can also capture 1080p video and we have no complaints about the quality, save for the nervous autofocus. The stock app also allows the user to capture high frame rate video and there’s a time lapse mode as well, which is nice.

The 5-megapixel front camera is a wide angle affair and it delivers average results. It’s more than adequate for the occasional video call or selfie, provided you’re not in a dark environment.

OS, UI and Everyday Use

ZTE started shipping the Blade S6 a couple of months ago, but the rollout was limited to certain Asian markets. When it launched, it was practically the only Chinese phone to ship with Android 5.0, and ZTE also claimed it was the first Snapdragon 615 smartphone with Lollipop. Most phones in this segment still ship with Android 4.4, so kudos to ZTE for burning the midnight oil and getting the latest version of Android to a mid-range device.

However, you are not getting stock Android 5.0 – the phone employs a custom skin, dubbed MiFavor 3.0. Like most Chinese brands, ZTE dispensed with the app drawer, so all your apps will end up on one of the main panes. The UI also features squared icons, but the good news is that it’s not too heavy and ZTE didn’t change a whole lot compared to stock Lollipop.

Much of the standard Android 5.0 UI is still there and it seems ZTE took the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach. The notification bar, menus and a lot of other Android 5.0 features and apps were left intact – and we like it that way. Of course, since this is Android, you are free to download another launcher.

However, many users probably won’t get the urge to download another launcher because the stock one is pretty good. It’s fast and responsive, and since it still has a lot of Android 5.0 DNA left, so it’s pretty intuitive. We have no complaints about the speed, everything is smooth and the Qualcomm SoC obviously doesn’t break a sweat dealing with the 720p display. The only bug we encountered was the jerky screen brightness slider. For some reason it’s choppy and we’re obviously looking at a software issue, or maybe a firmware glitch with the ambient light sensor.

As far as aesthetics go, there’s not much to complain about. ZTE tried to keep the launcher as close to Android 5.0 in terms of overall appearance, so you get a flat design that looks quite good. There are a lot of customisation options as well, and we particularly appreciated the ability of blurring the background with a simple slider. While some puritans may argue that soft, blurred backgrounds have no place in a flat design UI, we like it – it’s a simple and well implemented tweak that allows you to create the impression of an out-of-focus background with a single swipe. However, the choice of stock and downloadable backgrounds is limited, so you might need to get some of your own. Also, the minimalistic, flat UI looks quite good with a simple colour background, but the launcher doesn’t allow you to pick a colour of your own, which is quite odd. You just have a range of predefined colours and the ability to download (!) a few more colours.

ZTE includes a fair amount of bloatware on the device, but it’s not too bad since you can get rid of most of it. There are a few nifty features as well. You can tweak the capacitive button layout to match your personal preference and loads of gestures are supported. Mi-POP is another odd feature that could come in handy. It basically places an easy to access bubble on the screen, which is supposed to easy one-handed operation. We feel it makes more sense on the bigger Blade S6 Plus, with a 5.5-inch screen.

By default, the back button is located left of the home button, while the menu button is on the right, but you can swap them if you prefer. The secondary buttons are not visible when the phone is locked, while the central home button also doubles as a notification LED (blue only, this is not an RGB LED). You access the app switcher by a long press on the menu button, which reveals a standard Android 5.0 carousel, featuring recently used apps and Chrome tabs.

Some of the gestures included on the ZTE Blade S6 are quite gimmicky, but others are not. You can launch the camera by lifting the phone up in landscape mode and pressing the volume rocker, you can shake the phone to turn on the LED light (or launch something else), cover the screen to mute a call or alarm, flip the device to mute it and so on. All these gestures are part of what ZTE calls Smart Sense. Perhaps the most useful and simple features is the phone’s ability to detect when it’s placed into a pocket or purse, and automatically lock the screen.

All in all, ZTE’s UI is not bad at all and we like the fact that much of the Android 5.0 look and feel is still there. If you prefer the stock look, you can get even closer to it by installing Google’s camera, launcher and keyboard apps. This should give you a Nexus-like feel in just a few steps. We think this was a good call on ZTE’s part – the company experimented with a few additional features, but it did so without wrecking the UI in the process.

As we pointed out earlier, this is not a device for North American markets due to network limitations. However, Europeans should have no problems with it – we know we didn’t. However, we still feel LTE on entry-level and mid-range devices still isn’t a must-have feature, since most people who buy them off-contract probably won’t use it anyway.

A number of readers have expressed concerns about GPS quality on Chinese phones, but the ZTE performs admirably. We were able to get an indoor lock in a matter of seconds, and the accuracy was good enough to guide a JDAM down someone's chimney, like Santa from hell.

As for the battery, the results were average. While the Snapdragon 615 is supposed to be slightly more efficient than competing octa-core solutions, the 2400mAh battery is no miracle worker. Of course, it all depends on how you use the device, but chances are you’ll get a full day on a single charge with moderate to heavy use. You are basically looking at about six hours of on-screen time.

We took a look at other Snapdragon 615 devices and most of them ship with similar batteries. Sony’s Xperia M4 Aqua has a 2400mAh battery, while the Galaxy Alpha A7 and HTC Desire feature 2600mAh batteries with larger, 5.5-inch screens. With that in mind, ZTE’s 2400mAh battery doesn’t sound bad at all.

Conclusion

The ZTE Blade S6 is an interesting package – it’s a good all-round performer, but it doesn’t stand out in any department. Some may argue that this is sort of the point of mid-range devices, and we feel ZTE just wanted to design a straightforward phone with a good price tag. There’s nothing wrong with that and we like what they came up with.

The hardware is good and we were particularly pleased with the audio quality, unobtrusive UI with Android 5.0 overtones, and the compact design with curved glass. The latter is a mixed bag. The smooth design results in an attractive device that looks and feels light and comfortable. However, the iPhone look won’t be doing it many favours among some consumers. The 7.7mm plastic body feels robust, save for the odd back issue that could have been resolved easily. The finish is fingerprint resistant, but additional colour options that would distance it from the iPhone look would have been a nice touch. While unoriginal, the ZTE Blade S6 leaves the aesthetic impression of a somewhat more expensive device.

The Snapdragon 615 SoC should be sufficient for most users. After all, it delivers roughly the same performance as a 2013 flagship phone and it’s used in much pricier models like the Samsung Galaxy Alpha A7. It’s a 64-bit part running 64-bit Android 5.0, which wasn’t ruined by ZTE’s launcher, and let’s not forget about the 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The camera hardware is pretty good, although it feels let down by the stock software.

In terms of value, the Blade S6 compares favourably to similar big-brand devices – it retails for $249 in Asian markets, so you can get two or three for the price of a single flagship phone. Compared to other Snapdragon 615 devices out there, the ZTE is significantly cheaper than the HTC Desire 820, or the recently announced Sony Xperia M4 Aqua. In fact, the Blade S6 costs just a tad more than a similarly spec’d Moto G, with an inferior camera and SoC. The biggest problem facing the ZTE Blade S6, and indeed all mid-range phones, is that last year’s flagships go for about $100 more than the average mid-range phone. Since it’s really not an option for US consumers, let’s take a look at the European price. Gearbest, our principal provider of Chinese review samples, sells it for €229 with free shipping from EU stock, so European consumers don’t have to worry about customs and delivery times. The ZTE is in the same price range as the Acer Liquid Jade Z Plus, Samsung Galaxy Alpha A3, HTC Desire 620 and the Huawei Ascend G7, but it has a somewhat better spec than all of them.

The 5.5-inch ZTE Blade S6 Plus went on sale a couple of days ago and it features the same spec, with a bigger screen and 3000mAh battery. In case you think a 25% bigger battery is worth the extra investment, the Plus version sells for $299/€275.

The ZTE Blade S6 is a solid device and offers good value for money, but with a bit more refinement and additional colour options, it could have been even better, with very little effort on ZTE’s part. That’s perhaps our biggest complaint – with a bit more tender loving care and attention to detail, ZTE could have ended up with an exceptional mid-range device at virtually the same price point.

ZTE Blade S6 Pros and Cons

Pros:

Android 5.0 out of the box

Excellent audio, on par with flagship devices

MiFavor UI 3.0 is clean and flat, features a lot of Android 5.0 stock elements

ZTE has announced that it has launched its Blade S6 Plus worldwide and it will be exclusive to eBay.

Priced at US $299.99, £199.99 and €276.99 in the US, the UK and Europe, respectively, the Blade S6 Plus is a bigger version of the Blade S6 and it is based on a 5.5-inch 720p screen, Snapdragon 615 SoC paired up with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.

It also features a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front one, dual-SIM support, LTE, 3,000mAh battery and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop OS with ZTE's own MiFavor 3.0 UI on top of it. The rest of the features include micro USB port, all the usual sensors, Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11bgn WiFi.

While US $299.99/£199.99/€276.99 price tag might sound reasonable, ZTE will have plenty of competition in that price range with some Chinese 5.5-inch phablets that are already pushing 1080p screen in that price range.

Be as it may, we are working on a ZTE Blade S6 review and it should be ready soon.

ZTE is introducing the new Nubia Z9 flagship today and so far we like what we are seeing.

ZTE lost a lot of ground to Xiaomi, Huawei and Meizu over the past year or so, hence the Nubia Z9 is a rather important device for the Chinese company.

Luckily, it seems to tick all the right boxes for an alternative flagship - good value, decent specs and premium looks.

Nubia Z9 Max spec

The Nubia Z9 Max features a 5.5-inch 1080p display protected by Gorilla Glass 3. It is based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 SoC and sports 3GB of speedy LPDDR4 RAM, along with 16GB of storage, expandable via a microSD slot.

The phone sports an aluminium body, 16-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, front camera with an 8-megapixel sensor, NFC, FDD LTE and TD LTE, along with Bluetooth 4.0 and MHL 3.0. It also has a 2900mAh battery.

The launch price is 2,499 CNY, which is about 360 EUR at press time, or 330 USD.

The Nubia Z9 Mini isn’t really "mini"

The Mini model comes with a smaller 5-inch 1080p display and the same cameras. However, it lacks the powerful 20nm SoC of its bigger sibling. The Nubia Z9 Mini is a mid-range affair, so it ships with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC, backed by 2GB of RAM (mot LPDDR4). The phone also supports two LTE standards.

However, the price is what makes the Mini really interesting. It’s launching at 1,499 CNY, or about 218 EUR at press time. Basically this is a 250 USD phone with mid-range specs and a premium build, which doesn’t sound bad at all.

Both phones ship with Android 5.0, with Nubia UI 2.8 on top. The latter is our only concern, as ZTE’s previous Android skins weren’t that good. The new Nubias will be available in black and white colour options, with silver or gold aluminium trim.

Since this is an ongoing event, we have no proper press pics, but you can check out MyDrivers for live coverage - but remember to bring a translator.

ZTE may be about to surprise the market with a very sleek flagship phone, with extremely thin bezels.

The Nubia Z9 was already leaked in a few photos, but now we have a few more courtesy of Leaksfly. The new ones show an all-metal phone with a relatively thin design and rear mounted fingerprint sensor. The phone looks almost as thin as the iPhone 6, but it’s a bit bigger owing to its more spacious screen. It appears that this is the Max version, with a 5.5-inch panel.

The kicker is the slim bezel design, which allows the company to build a somewhat more compact device. There is no symmetry, either, so the top is much smaller than the bottom, which houses three soft keys.

Under the bonnet, the Z9 is expected to sport Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810, but there is a catch. ZTE usually designs three different Z-series flagships, in three form factors – standard, mini and max, which is essentially a phablet.

The new ZTE Nubia Z9 is expected to launch be the end of the month. It’s unclear whether or not ZTE will market it in Europe and the US, but the phone appears to tick all the right boxes – it’s got the looks and the hardware to be a success. Hopefully ZTE will not mess up on the software front, but the good news is that it’s shipping with Android 5.0, so we can only hope ZTE used the opportunity to tweak its Android skin.

ZTE has high-end aspirations, no doubt about that, but the company is also one of few Chinese phonemakers to lose market share last year. In terms of unit shipments in China, ZTE used to enjoy a comfortable second place, behind Huawei. However, last year it was overtaken by Xiaomi.

ZTE’s Nubia products are usually reserved for Asian markets. However, the company is looking to expand its global presence, and the Nubia Z9 series may have what it takes.

The biggest problem with Nubias, aside from the fact that western consumers can’t get one, is the UI. Reviewers have been critical of ZTE’s skins for years, so we can only hope that the company will sort out a few quirks on new Android 5.0 devices.

A number of phonemakers have rolled out very affordable phablets over the past couple of months, and the trend is spearheaded by Chinese brands.

The recipe is quite simple – get a mid-range chipset, a decent camera, and slap a 5.5-inch panel on top, pricing the whole package at $200-$300.

Xiaomi and Meizu started it all

The Meizu M1 Note was (arguably) the first value phablet to launch this generation. It has a 64-bit MediaTek octa-core and a 5.5-inch 1080p display.

However, it was not the first such device, as the Xiaomi Redmi Note beat it to market by a few months, albeit with a 720p display and an older 32-bit chip.

Scores of similar models from smaller brands are available too, but they simply don’t come close to the Meizu and Xiaomi phablets in terms of appeal (or design).

ZTE and Huawei are on board as well

While Xiaomi and Meizu like to portray themselves as trendsetters, ZTE and Huawei have been around for years and they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Huawei’s Honor 4X is coming to Europe in a few weeks and it’s going after the competition with a 720p display and an in-house 64-bit octa-core SoC. However, it should come in under €200 which sounds like a very reasonable price. Huawei is not selling it in Europe just yet, but you could order it directly from China.

ZTE joined the party last week at MWC, with a 5.5-inch version of the Blade S6, dubbed Blade S6 Plus. The branding points to Apple and the looks are, well, iPhone inspired to say the least. The phone features a Snapdragon 615 SoC and 2GB of RAM, along with a 5.5-inch panel and a 13-megapixel Sony camera. The ZTE also stands out because it ships with Android 5.0. It’s still not available in Europe, but you can pre-order it through a reseller like Gearbest for $299, shipping from EU stock.

Alcatel is in the game, too, with the OneTouch Idol 3, which also packs a 5.5-inch 1080p display and relatively good specs.

How come value phablets are so popular?

Many consumers stick to the “bigger is better” mantra, and oversized phones have gone mainstream thanks to Samsung Note series and of course the iPhone 6 Plus.

While I am personally not a big fan of big screen phablets, I can certainly understand their appeal. Prices are usually very competitive, yet these phones tend to have relatively good specs – octa-core processors with “good enough” graphics, 2GB of RAM, microSD slots, good cameras and obviously a big, high-resolution screen.

They’re just marginally more expensive than low- and mid-end phones with quad-core processors, 1GB of RAM and significantly smaller batteries. Bottom line – consumers choosing a value 5.5-inch phablet really get a lot of bang for their buck.

The ZTE Blade S6 is a mid-range phone designed for the Asian market, but now it’s coming to Europe and it has a couple of things going for it.

You’re probably looking at it and wondering why ZTE chose to go for such an iPhoneish design, but that’s really not that surprising since many big and small Chinese brands have similar designs (including Lenovo, with its S90 mid-range phone).

Solid specs and impressive cameras

Looks aside, the phone sports a fairly good spec. It is powered by a Qualcomm 615 processor, which has eight Cortex-A53 cores clocked at up to 1.7GHz, with Adreno 405 graphics. In addition, you also get 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, expandable via a microSD slot.

The 5-inch IPS display is a 720p affair, which is to be expected on this sort of device. At the back you’ll find a 13-megapixel f/2.0 camera with a Sony sensor, and at the front there’s a 5-megapixel selfie cam with an 80-degree wide angle lens. This is not bad for a mid-range phone.

In terms of connectivity, the ZTE Blade S6 supports LTE networks in Europe and Asia, but not in the US. The phone also has 802.11ac wireless and Bluetooth 4.0. There's even an FM radio on board.

Lollipop on board

What makes the ZTE Blade S6 really stand out from the rest of the field is the OS, as it ships with Android 5.0 Lollipop. ZTE did implement a few minor UI tweaks and dispensed with the app drawer in the process, but you can always use a third-party launcher in case you need it.

Don’t let looks fool you. The silver body is plastic, not metal, but it’s a unibody-style design, with an integrated 2400mAh battery and two nano SIM slots on the side (one of which doubles as a microSD slot). A pink colour option should be available as well, but sadly there’s no black of white versions. The device measures 144x70.7x7.7mm and weighs 134g.

Although the phone is not meant to be directly marketed in Europe, a few merchants are shipping it. The official MSRP is $249, so depending on the exchange rate, European consumers are looking at about €220-€225. In case you are worried about customs and shipping, you can get the phone from Chinese resellers like Gearbest, from their EU warehouses.

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission has concluded its antitrust investigation into Qualcomm's, and the result is bad news.

Besides huge fines on Qualcomm's monopolistic practice and the outfit will be forced to lower licensing fees, and ditch its so-called "reverse patent licence." The reverse patent licence is a compulsory agreement that Qualcomm imposed on its clients to lift their patent fees to each other.

Under the agreement, any smartphone makers that use Qualcomm's chips must "authorise their patent rights to Qualcomm,” and are not allowed to collect any relevant patent royalties from other Qualcomm clients. The watchdog feels that this practice has shielded the interests of mobile makers with less patent rights, and should be deemed as unfair.

This will help ZTE and Huawei, which hold a substantial amount of mobile-related patents in the country. ZTE's patent total has exceeded 52,000 patents worldwide, while Huawei's total patent portfolio numbered over 30,000 by November this year. Without an adequate patent library, smartphone manufacturers making budget handsets will see pressure mount in patent-related costs.

ZTE hinted it should enjoy more patent dividends, indicating that the patent competitions among Chinese smartphone makers have just started. Huawei, on the other hand, stated clearly that it will not head to the courts on the issue in the future.

ZTE has finally updated its flagship phone line-up and it has decided to launch all three Z7 series phones at once. They all share a similar spec, but as the naming implies there are some notable distinctions.

The ZTE Nubia Z7 comes with Snapdragon 801 chipset at 2.5GHz and runs Android 4.4 KitKat with Nubia UI 2.0 on top of it. It comes with 3GB of RAM and has a 5-megapixel front facing camera and 13-megapixel main camera with an f/2.0 lens and optical image stabilization. The most important feature is the 5.5-screen with a resolution of 2560x1440, making it a direct competitor to LG G3 phone.

The phone comes with dual SIM support, international LTE support as well as dual-band 802.11ac WiFI and it has a 3000mAh battery. The Nubia Z7 measures 139 x 71 x 9mm and it is not the thinnest phone around. At the current price of ¥3,456.00, or about €409 and $555 it is fairly modestly priced for the specification. The Nubia Z7 Max has a downscaled resolution of 1080p and it has the same 5.5-inch screen size. At 152.7 x 76 x 8.7mm it seems a bit taller and wider than the Z7 Nubia, but a few parts of a millimetre skinnier.

The phones share much of the spec, including the Snadragon 801 SoC clocked at 2.5GHz, Android Kit Kat 4,4 with Nubia UI 2.0, LTE and 3G support as well as dual SIM. It has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, backed by a microSD slot. It also comes with a 13-megapixel camera with F2.0 lens, while the front facing camera stays at 5 megapixels. It comes with a respectable 3100mAh battery.

It sells for ¥1,999.00, which translates to €237 $322 at the current exchange rate. At this price, the device looks like a great buy.

Last on the list is the Z7 mini that comes in a few different colour options, including yellow, light green, some sort of red and of course white. This 445 PPI phone has a 1920x1080 5-inch screen and just like the Z7 max it has Android 4.4 with Nubia UI 2.0 on a Snapdragon 801 chipset with 2GB RAM but, it has of 16GB storage. Dual SIM and microSD support is also there and so is LTE. It has the same 13-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front camera combo.

It measures 140.9 x 69.3 x 8.2mm and weighs 143g and it has a 2300mAh battery. It is priced at ¥1,499.00 or €177.5/$241 making it really affordable.

All phones have a great spec, the design is nice and they are priced competitively, but then again ZTE is not an A1 brand that goes against the likes of Samsung, LG or HTC. The 2K mobile screen is a nice surprise showing us that just about any new high end phone that comes in second part of 2014 or early 2015 will end up with a 2560x1440 screen.

Handsets made by ZTE and Nokia do not violate InterDigital Inc's patents for wireless phones, a U.S. International Trade Commission judge said in a preliminary ruling. The full commission is expected to issue a final ruling in October.

InterDigital shares plunged more than 10 percent on the ruling, and but they recovered somewhat and were down about 7.3 percent in late-afternoon U.S. trading. InterDigital said in a statement that it would appeal to the full commission, and potentially to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The company sued Samsung Electronics and Huawei for infringement but these two companies paid it to go away. The company accused the companies of infringing on seven patents when the case was filed in 2013, but four dropped out in the course of litigation.

The ITC is a popular place for patent lawsuits because it can ban products that infringe on patents from being imported into the United States which makes it good leverage to get a company which will not pay up back to the negotiating table.